Mail and order filing system.



No. 851,145. EATENTED APR. 23, 1907. N. M. SWEET E G. K. SAWAYA. MAH. ENE oEnEE FILING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED lNOV. 2G. 1906.

@Hoz una iinrrnn terapias; Parana# OFFICE.

NORMANM. SWEET AND GEORGE KALIL SAWAYA, OF NASHVILLE. l TENNESSEE. l

man. aan cansar-irme sYsreM.

no. saines.

Spechcaton of Letters Fa'tent.

Patented April 23, 1907.

application and November ze, 190e. serai No. 345,266.

To all, .wh/om at` may concer-nr Be it known that we, N ORMAN M SWEET,

i residing at Nashville, in the county of David county of Davidson and State of Tennessee,u

both citizens of the United States, have invented a certain new and usefulMail and Order .Filing System, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to liling cabinets designed for filing and indexing mail mattei' such as letters and'gencral correspondence and also orders, the object of the invention being to 'provide a cabinet well adapted to the purpose set forth, and further to'provide means whereby letters and orders ci any date or under any naine may be quickly and securely located.

y With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists `in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, herein fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings ,-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a iiliiifr cabinet constructed in accordance with'tlzie present invention, the partitions and cards being omitted therefrom. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section throughthe same, showing the movable partitions and cards in place therein, and letters or orders,or the like filed away. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the cabinet. Fig. 4 is a side elevation ot one of the partitions. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one form of card, and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of another form of card.

The main' body of the cabinet consists of a box or trough like holder of an suitable length, width and de th, adapted to contain letters or orders or t ie like arranged side by side. The said body is shown as coin rising a bottoni 1,' sides 2, and ends 3, wiile the body, as a whole, is supported at a suitable elevation by a frame shown as embodying supporting legls 4, connected and braccdvby stringers 5.v he cabinet body may, how-,

ever, be supported in any desired manner,U

the means shown and described being convenient for ali ordinary purposes.

In carrying out the present invention, the top edges of the cabinet sides 2 are provided at frequent intervals with notches 6 arranged The width and depth or height of each in oppositely alined pairs adapted to receive and hold the opposite extremities ofthe supporting rods of a number of movable partitions'7,; each having one of saidsupporting rods 8 connected thereto. Each partition 7 is made of stout material such as sheet metal and under the preerredembodiment of this invention one edge of the partition is rolled over as shcwn at 9 to embrace and .confine the supporting rod 8, while the length of the rod is such that the ends Athereof project beyond the side edges of the partition so as'to lie in the notches 6, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

tion is slightly less than .the internal dimensions of the cabinet body or holder, so that partii by lifting'a partition, the extremities of the supporting'rod may be disengaged from the notches 6 allowingsaid partition to be moved along thel cabinet to the'desired point where' 'the i'od extremities may again be engaged with the notches 6, the partition being thus securely held from slipping and releasing paf" pers' which may be conined between it and an adjacent partition. Where the papers Aare to be arranged alphabetically, a sufficient number of partitions are provided to conform to the number of letters in the alphabet, and others additional thereto as may be found desirable. Eaeh partition is further provided with an upstandinv tab 10 upon which `appears a letter of thel alphabet or other designating character suitable to the use for which the cabinet is desi ned.

In addition to the movab e partitions above described, division cards 11 are employed, of the samewidth practicall .as the partitions, and these cards are provi ed with upstanding tabs 12 adapted to receive the names of the correspondents or patrons, as indicated in Fig. 5. vision cards are made in two thicknesses, a

Preferably these dthin card, for example, being used for a party' having but little business or' correspondence, and a relatively thick card for a party conducting a rela-tively larve amount of business orcorrespondence. Tthese cards are also arranged alphabetically lbetween the movable partitions thus facilitating` reference and accessibility to any desired name. As the volume of letters or other papers increases, the partitions are shifted to accommodate them, and order to keep the pa ers, cards and partitions in com act orI er,l a movable stop or abutment bloc 13 of sufficient Weight is arranged Within the having a like function.

, is used, the same being place [5.

cabinet body, which stop or block backs up said parts, as shown in Fig. 2. The abutment face of the stop or block 13 is beveled last paper of one year and the iii-'st paper of I the ensuing year, and by preference this card 15 is of some designating color, and is also provided with an npstanding tab 16, upon which the year appears.

In using the cabinet for filing orders, the

. cards 15 may be used to designate the different States or parts or sections ofa country,

' the names of the States being placed on the 2 tabs, as indicated in Fig; 6. These Will be arranged alphabetically, While the intervening division cards 11 will have the names of different towns or cities in such States )laced on the tabs thereof, and these Will. lie arran ed alphabetically to facilitate ready re erence thereto. Following the same plan or syst-ern, as above, a thinvcard may be used for a town Where little business is done, and a relatively thick card may be vused for a city Where a relatively large amount of business is conducted, all of which assists vin enabling a person to quickly lay his hands upon any desired paper 1n the cabinet. The upwardly projecting tabs 10 f of the movable partitions form convenient ator to quickly finger pieces or gri iswhich enable the opers 'ft said partitions, one

i ""'after another, 1n getting at the papers'desired, While the Weight of said partitions insures their restoration 'to place and the positionin g of the extremities of the supporting rods in the notches provided therefor in the top edges lof the cabinet sides.y

between they VWitnesses:

A filing cabineil comprising a box-like' body having notches along the top edges of opposite sides thereof,and movable partitions with supporting rods extending along the top edges thereof and with tabs Iprojecting above said supporting rods for the purpose specified. f

4. A filing cabinet comprising a box-like l `body having notches along the topffedges 'of the opposite sides thereof, movable partitions having supporting rods adapted to fity removably into said notches, and a movable back sto or abutment block adapted to be shifted a ong the body.

5. A filing cabinet comprising a box-like body having notches along the top edges of opposite sides thereof, movable partitions having means to engage said notches, a stationary stopor abutment at one end ofthe bod and a 'movable stop or abutment Within t e body, said stops or abutments having beveled or inclined faces. i i

' 6. 'A filing cabinet comprising a box-like body, movable partitions adapted to be shifted alon the body, means 1n line with the tops of t e partitions for retaining them in the places to which they are shifted, and intervening divisions cards interposed between the partitions.

N. M. SWEET.

GEO. KALIL SAWAYA.

W. H. CLARKE, R. T. HOPKINS. 

